Flowers are scattered all about. Blooming on a single stem, you and I, we are the fruits of enlightenment, sprouts in the flower garland world.

The major and minor disputes that flare up due to our endless desire, inter-religious conflicts, and the suffering of women who toil behind the scenes in a history dominated by male oppression - all these pains are embraced and comforted. In "Hwa's Journey to Enlightenment," the idea of race, religion and ideology are left behind, and we see instead an embodiment of truth and harmony. You are invited to the world of "Lee Kihyang's Art-to-Wear Exhibition," displaying a new genre of art clothing through an integration of creative media.

<Coverage: Reporter Bak Se-eun>

Hansung University's Professor Lee Kihyang of the Division of Fashion Design and Business,an artist skilled at grafting an Asian sentiment into the field of artistic fashion, has two exhibitionsopening simultaneously, both imbued with her unique hue. From the 5th to the 16th at the KwanghwamunGallery, the exhibition titled "Lee Kihyang's Art-to-Wear Moving Exhibition - Hwa (華) - You, Flower of Hwaeom" shows the full possibilities of fashion clothing through an integrated artperformance, incorporating clothing, disguises, body painting, music, and dance to portray the wide variety of personalities encountered along the journey to enlightenment.

From the the 5th to the 7th, the twice daily production of "The Moving Exhibition" brings your focus to a wide variety of topics. This roughly 40-minute moving exhibition opens with a performance of some 20 dancers, and features works that embody the religions of the world and their main figures such as the Buddha and Jesus who pray for peace and compassion. Also serving as a focus are those who suffer from war and conflict, such as the women of Palestine, Vietnam, Tibet, and various divided nations of the world. Also included in this compassionate embrace aremother nature and the animal kingdom as well. It finishes with a movement of deep significance, involving the direct participation of the audience moving within the suspended flowers installed on the exterior of the exhibition space. Perhaps most impressive was the opening performance on the 5th, when Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant and other religious representatives attended together, sharing in the deep significance of this exhibition's aim of creating harmony.

Before the exhibition, Professor Lee noted that, "As we live together in this society, we are all special flowers within a single garland. I want to bring that meaning to our cultural welfare activities, where we are all working together to benefit the alienated members of our society." She continued, "My plan is for this exhibition to provide an opportunity for us to empathize with these people, through a sublimation of the inner strength that women possess, into a form of artistic beauty." She also added that the proceeds from the exhibition will go to support the women portrayed in the exhibition, namely, those at The House of Sharing - a living space for the Comfort Women, and Hwaeom Dongsan - a housing shelter for homeless women. You can find the artworks from this show on her homepage,http://www.art-to-wear.pe.kr, a space steeped in the sentiment of her exhibitions and featuring verses of meditation and photography of her other productions.

Professor Lee Kihyang's Profile

<Scholastic Achievements>

February 1974Graduated from Gyeonggi Girls High School

February 1979B.F.A. - School of Art, Seoul National University, majoring in Plastic Arts

August 1981B.F.A. - The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

August 1985Certificate of Completion, Boston School of Fashion Design

August 1992M.F.A. - Ewha University Graduate School of Design

1981~82Studied at the Massachusetts College of Art

1994~95Earned Certificate of Study from Bunka Fashion College in Japan